Between the uncooperative weather, the switch to wooden bats and the teams from much bigger areas, it was a rough weekend for the Powell Pioneers at the annual Cody Wood Bat Baseball Tournament.

“Playing with wood bats, you could definitely tell the difference,” second-basemen Ben Jackson said. “But it was all right and really didn’t make a difference.”

Taking on teams from the likes of Grand Junction, Colorado (population 60,000), Thunder Ridge of suburban Denver (population 96,000) and Gallatin Valley, Montana (a county which includes Bozeman and a population of nearly 100,000), however, Powell wasn’t exactly being picked on by anyone its own size.

Thursday’s opener against the Billings Blue Jays (population 110,000), was rained out, and Friday’s early match-up against Grand Junction resulted in an 8-0 loss.

But the Pioneers proved opportunistic in Friday afternoon’s contest, a 7-6 win over Gallatin Valley.

After the Outlaws put a runner on in the top of the first, Powell starting pitcher Carson Asher got a ground out to first and then started a fielder’s choice when he fielded a grounder off Michael Nehring’s bat and got the Gallatin runner caught in a rundown between second and third.

Nehring was then thrown out trying to steal and the Pioneers’ offense then took full advantage of an inexperienced Outlaw pitcher to the tune of five runs scored without a base hit.

Ezra Andreason was hit by a pitch and while Colin Queen and Teagan Cordes were drawing walks, two balks and three wild pitches led to a run.

Asher roped a shot to right that was corralled, but Tyler Feller walked, with another balk bringing Queen home, and while Kaden Moore was working a base on balls, a wild pitch scored Cordes.

With two outs, a wild pitch on ball four to Zavier Wantulok scored Feller, and during Cameron Schmidt’s at bat, another balk allowed Moore to score and give Powell a 5-0 lead.

Asher worked around consecutive singles to start the second, getting a come-backer to the mound and recording two strike outs.

A more experienced reliever then came in for the Outlaws and held the Pioneers in check during the second and third to keep the margin at five runs.

The margin quickly evaporated in the top of the fourth, however, as with one on and two out, Asher had a little bout of wildness, hitting a batter and walking one to load the bases.

Conner Johnson then singled to right to get Gallatin on the board and keep the bases loaded.

An infield hit from Dalton Majors scored a run, with an error on the play allowing another run in to cut the lead to 5-3.

Denver Fields then crushed a pitch to the fence in left for a two-RBI double, evening things up at 5-5, and Majors would score on a Kyler Elliott infield single to put the Outlaws in the lead.

Wantulok walked and stole a base in the bottom of the fourth, but would be left stranded.

Asher returned to form in the fifth and retired Gallatin in order, and would play a part in tying things up in the bottom half.

After Queen and Cordes drew walks, Asher put down a bunt to move the runners over.

But the bunt went for a hit to load the bases.

Feller’s deep fly to center then went for a sacrifice-fly RBI to knot things up at 6-6.

Queen took over on the mound in the sixth and was aided by a nice running catch off a shot to center by Cordes, to retire the side in order.

A Wantulok double in the bottom of the sixth posed a threat to score the lead run when Andreason singled to center.

But the throw to the plate nabbed Wantulok and kept it tied.

The Outlaws then mounted their own threat in the top of the seventh when Nehring and Noah Young singled and moved to second and third on a Ryan Murphy sacrifice bunt.

A hard shot off Michael Jones’ bat, however, was snared by Wantulok, who alertly tagged third for an inning-ending double play.

Powell then got the win in the bottom of the seventh.

With two out, Asher doubled to left-center field, with an error allowing him to reach third.

Moments later, a pitch got away and Asher raced in with the winning run.

A rough Saturday

The momentum wouldn’t be carried over to Saturday’s contests, which included a 17-0 loss to Thunder Ridge and an 11-3 loss against Cody.

The Pioneers actually drew first blood against the Cubs, with Andreason scoring on a Cordes single in the top of the third, but Cody roared right back to score six runs in the third and three more in the fourth to take a 9-1 lead.

Never willing to withdraw from the fight, Powell came back in the fifth on a walk to Andreason and consecutive singles from Queen, Cordes and Asher put two runs on the board.

That was all the team would muster, however, and the Cubs added two more in the sixth to provide for the final margin.

“It’s pretty ridiculous how big where those teams are from,” Moore said. “That makes me feel a little better about some of our losses. After facing that, hopefully it will make Lovell turn out to be a piece of cake. It’s about time we take it to them.”

Losses in Lovell

The team looked to bring things together after facing such tough competition as they played at Lovell Tuesday night.

And though the Pioneers did some good things, it wasn’t enough as the Mustangs came away with 4-1 and 14-4 wins.

Some sloppy fielding and timely Lovell hitting paved the way for three first-inning runs in the opener, just one of them earned.

But after that, starter Asher held them scoreless through the next two innings and Andreason threw three innings and allowed one unearned run the rest of the way.

Powell nearly matched the Mustang hit total, having six to Lovell’s eight, but couldn’t string enough together to get on the scoreboard until the sixth inning.

There, Andreason doubled to center with one out and moved to third when the second out was made before coming in when Asher reached on an error.

Cordes then singled to center to put two on, but they would be left stranded.

The offense was a bit more productive in the night-cap, scoring twice in the first and adding one run in both the second and third.

Andreason and Asher each singled and scored in the first, with Aidan Jacobsen drawing a walk in the second and being driven in by a Cordes single.

Asher then singled to start the third and scored when Moore smashed a double.

Unfortunately, while the offense again was almost equal in hits with Lovell, a combination of walks given up — 12 in the game — a couple of untimely errors and timely Mustang hits accounted for a five-run first and a seven-run third.

Single runs were added in the fourth and fifth to provide for the final score.

Still looking for things to come together, the Pioneers will continue to be battle-tested this weekend as they head north for the Halo’s Tournament in Billings starting today (Thursday).

“There will be some really good teams there too,” Asher said. “That will be tough as well.”